a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved support for mounting a device box into an opening made in a wall panel, such as a gypsum panel.
The term "device box" as used herein is a generic term that is used in the trade for designating electrical outlet boxes, electrical wiring boxes or any similar boxes used for installing electrical equipments and connections, especially into a building or dwelling.
b) Background of the Invention
Electrical device boxes are extensively used in buildings and dwellings. Such boxes are usually made of metal and are shaped to define a rectangular housing with an open front and a pair of top and bottom tabs. In use, the boxes are fixed to a supporting structure such as the lateral side of a wood stud or the like.
For some very specific application, the device boxes may also be mounted into openings made in the wall panels of a building or dwelling. In such a case, especially if there is no underlying stud adjacent the opening, it is necessary to fix the box to the panel itself. Because the panels are usually made of gypsum or any similar material in which nails or screws cannot be used as reliable attachment means, supports have been devised, like the one shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, identified as "prior art".
This known support 101 which is presently sold in Canada by COMMANDER, comprises an elongated bar-shaped member 111 from one side of which two transverse members 113, 113' project at substantially the same distance away. In use, the bar-shaped member is inserted behind the panel through the opening. After such an insertion the transverse members are folded back into the open front of the device box in such a manner that the panel be "squeezed" between the locking tabs of the device box and the bar-shaped member, thereby achieving the requested mounting.
As can be seen in FIG. 1, the transverse members 113, 113' are not positioned at a same distance away from the adjacent ends of the bar-shaped member 111. Actually, one of these transverse members, viz. the one numbered 113, is positioned at a longer distance from its adjacent end than the other so as to give more room for the insertion of the bar-shaped member behind the panel. Of course, because of the symmetry of the support, such insertion of the bar-shaped member 111' can be done only in one way, viz. by inserting the end 115' of the bar-shaped member and only this one first into the opening.
In practice, the transverse members 113, 113' must be spaced away from each other so as to keep the bar-shaped member in position behind the panel when they are folded back in the support box. However, they cannot be spaced as much as they could, because of their asymmetry along the length of the bar-shaped member 111. Accordingly, there is always a substantial "slack" during installation, which prevents the bar-shaped member from being properly centered behind the panel, with both of its opposite ends bearing against the panel over substantially the same height.